Commercial law

Companies law
Company · Business
Business entities
Sole proprietorship Partnership (General · Limited · LLP) Corporation Cooperative
United States
S corporation · C corporation LLC · LLLP · Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation Massachusetts business trust Delaware statutory trust Benefit corporation
UK / Ireland / Commonwealth
Limited company (by shares · by guarantee Public · Proprietary) Unlimited company Community interest company
European Union / EEA
SE · SCE · SPE · EEIG
Elsewhere
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · AS · GmbH K.K. · N.V. · Oy · S.A. · more
Doctrines
Corporate governance Limited liability · Ultra vires Business judgment rule Internal affairs doctrine De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel Piercing the corporate veil Rochdale Principles
Related areas
Contract · Civil procedure
v · d · e

Commercial law (also known as business law, which covers also corporate law) is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions. It is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals with issues of both private law and public law.

Commercial law includes within its compass such titles as principal and agent; carriage by land and sea; merchant shipping; guarantee; marine, fire, life, and accident insurance; bills of exchange and partnership. It can also be understood to regulate corporate contracts, hiring practices, and the manufacture and sales of consumer goods. Many countries have adopted civil codes that contain comprehensive statements of their commercial law. In the United States, commercial law is the province of both the United States Congress, under its power to regulate interstate commerce, and the states, under their police power. Efforts have been made to create a unified body of commercial law in the United States; the most successful of these attempts has resulted in the general adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, which has been adopted in all 50 states (with some modification by state legislatures), the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories.

Various regulatory schemes control how commerce is conducted, particularly vis-a-vis employees and customers. Privacy laws, safety laws (e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the United States), and food and drug laws are some examples.

See also

• Arbitration
• Corporate law
• European Business Law Review
• Financial regulation
• Intellectual property
• Letter of credit
• List of business law topics
• Negotiable instrument
• Property law
• Sales tax
• Tax law

External links

• Hundreds of Answers to Basic Business Law Questions
• Topical listing of US commercial law from Cornell's Legal Information Institute